Document loan, reservation, request, order and digitization

log-in from the BEAST catalog

• click on the document you want to reserve
• in “Pick up on site”, click on “EPFL Library”
• click on “Loan”
• select “EPFL” as Pickup Institution
• select “EPFL Bibliotheque” as Pickup Location
• click on “Send request”
• you can now track the status of your request from your reader account
• you will receive an email as soon as you can pick-up the document at the Library desk (Monday to Friday from 8am to 11.45pm and from 9am on weekends). The document is reserved for 10 days. After this period, and without any news from you, the reservation is expired.

• log-in from the BEAST catalog
• click on the document you want to request
• section “Further request options”: in the section “Request by courier or postal delivery”, click on “Select Pickup location”
• select “EPFL” as Pickup Institution
• select “EPFL Bibliotheque” as Pickup Location
• click on “Request”
• the delivery time and fee amount are displayed, validate your request by clicking on “Send request”
• you can now track the status of your request from your reader account
• you will receive an email as soon as you can pick-up the document at the Library desk (Monday to Friday from 8am to 11.45pm and from 9am on weekends). The document is reserved for 10 days. After this period, and without any news from you, the reservation is expired.

The SLSP-Courier service is free for EPFL members if collection is made at the EPFL Library (or at the libraries of the 4 associated campuses). The service is also free for the UNIL Sciences criminelles community.

Since February 1, 2024, the SLSP-Courier service is charged 8 CHF to non-EPFL users, even when collection is made at the EPFL Library.

Collection from another swisscovery library is charged at CHF 8. Documents sent to a private or business address are charged at CHF 12.

• log-in from the BEAST catalog
• click on the button “Request a document” on the top of the page
• fill the form
• send your request

• Books
• Copies of articles (digital or printed version)
• All types of document available in libraries (reports, proceedings of conferences, theses…)

• Documents from Swiss libraries: 3 to 5 days
• Documents from European libraries (outside Switzerland): 1 to 2 weeks

Documents can be collected at the EPFL Library desk. The documents are delivered either in digitized form (by e-mail) or in printed form (to be collected at the Library desk, or sent by internal mail to your EPFL professional address).

You will be notified of the loan duration when you borrow the document. Some documents are only available for on-site consultation at EPFL Library, in accordance with the request of the owner library.

It is sometimes possible to extend the interlibrary loans duration. To proceed so, please contact [email protected] before the document expires. You are responsible for returning the document to EPFL Library, at the latest by the due date. In case of delay, you will be charged: swisscovery pricing.

• log-in from the BEAST catalog
• click on the journal containing the article you need
• in “Pick up on site”, click on “EPFL Library”
• click on “Digitization” in the row corresponding to the volume/number you need
• fill article information (title, pages)
• click on “Send request”

• log-in from the BEAST catalog
• click on the button “Request a document” on the webpage top
• fill in the form with the article references (title, volume, issue and year of the journal, pages)
• click on “Send request”

• log-in from the BEAST catalog
• click on the document you want to request
• section “Further request options”: delivery times and costs are displayed in the “Digitization” section
• click on “Request”
• you can now track the status of your request from your reader account

• log-in from the BEAST catalog
• click on the button “Request a document” on the webpage top
• fill in the form with the article references (title, volume, issue and year of the journal, pages)
• click on “Send request”

The first free reminder, as well as all the others, are exclusively sent by e-mail from the address [email protected] as following:

• 1 open day after loan term: free reminder
  
  
• 1st paying reminder
  6 days after the reception of the free reminder : 5 CHF additional per document
  
  
• 2nd paying reminder
  6 days after the reception of the 1st paying reminder : 5 CHF additional per document
  
• 3nd paying reminder
  6 days after the reception of the 2nd paying reminder : 5 CHF additional per document

Please note: for documents which loan period is 7 open days (video games, game console, journals), the period between each reminder is 3 days instead of 6.

DVDs as well as dictionaries have a loan period of 7 days which cannot be renewed.

Please check your reader account regularly to see the status of your loans. Indeed, it can happen that automatic e-mails are not accepted by the filters of the messaging system and then go into spams. As the Library has no control over this problem, users only remain responsible for bringing back their loans in time. The non-receipt of these notices or reminders cannot be used as an excuse for the late return of documents.

Fees can be paid at the Library’s main desk, as long as they are not charged by swisscovery. Payment can be made by cash, Camipro card, credit/debit card or Twint, Monday to Friday from 8am to 11.45pm and from 9am on weekends. Warning! Only fees about documents which belong to the EPFL Library can be paid at our desk! Fees about documents which belong to libraries out of the EPFL must be paid by using invoices or according to the owner library’s conditions.

Fees not charged yet can be seen in the user account in the tab “Fees”. Warning! Fees are sorted by documents’ owner library. Please pay attention to the owner libraries’ tabs on the left of the screen.

An invoice is sent every month by e-mail for every fees older than 30 days. From that moment, payment can only be maid by using the invoice. Warning! Fees charged cannot be seen in the user account anymore! These fees remain effective though.

A reminder is sent if an invoice is unpaid after 30 days. If it remains unpaid, a second reminder is sent after 30 days also. These reminders are sent by e-mail and involve no extra costs. If an invoice is still unpaid 30 days after the second reminder’s mailing, the user account is frozen until the invoice is duly paid.

For every question regarding fees or invoices, please contact us by email at [email protected] or by phone at 021 693 21 56.

Any loss or deterioration of a borrowed book should be reported as soon as possible to the address [email protected] or by phone: 021 693 21 56. We also ask users not to buy lost or damaged documents themselves. We reserve the right to refuse any document purchased by users. Users will be charged for lost or damaged documents by e-mail up to the purchase price.

28-day loan period for all the documents, except:

• 14 days: Teaching Collection
• 7 days: borrowable journals, DVDs, video games and game consoles

The loan period is indicated for each document in the BEAST catalog.

Items that can be borrowed at the Library desk (headphones, printing cards, flipchart kits and DVD player) have a 1-day loan period, non-renewable. These items are not listed in the BEAST catalog and cannot be reserved.

5 automatic extensions, if the document is not reserved by another user (exceptions may occur). 

After 5 extensions, the document must be presented at EPFL Library desk. If the document belongs to the EPFL library and is not reserved by another person, a new loan can be made. An extension cannot cancel a fine: please respect the return deadline. You will also find in your online account information about loan periods and possible extensions.

Renewal is also possible remotely, but only for documents belonging to the EPFL library. To proceed, send a photo of the barcode of the document to be renewed to [email protected].

You can return your document anytime in the large white boxes located in the Library or at the desks. You can mail them to the Library at your expense. In this case, the document must arrive before the loan duration expires.